February 1
Read: Matthew 6:1-8
When I arrived at church this evening, I noticed immediately someone had repaired a broken swing in the playground. It has been broken for about five weeks, and I intended to get to it, but it just hadn’t happened yet.
Well, apparently I was not the only one concerned, and sometime today a very kind and caring person took the initiative to buy a part and repair the chain. I praise the Lord for their diligence and their faithfulness, and I thank the Lord for caring church members. In our next service, if I remember it, I may mention it. I will say I don’t know who did the repair, but God does, and He never forgets a cold drink of water given in His name. I will not mention Matthew 6:1-8, but I’ll be thinking about it.
In this passage, the Bible talks about doing alms. Alms are good works of any kind. They almost always include giving of some sort but the subject is not limited to giving. The Word says, “...when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.” Jesus’ teaching here is that we can do the right thing for the wrong reason. If we do what we do to be seen of and receive glory from men, we will get what we want. But...that’s all the reward we can expect. In the other hand, in verses 3 and 4, we are told: “...when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” If no one knows who did the deed, then who gets the glory? God alone. And that’s the point. We have nothing that He did not provide, and why should we be rewarded for using God’s stuff?
It will be interesting to see if the person who did the repairs makes sure that others know it. If they do, then they will have gotten what they seek. How much better to receive our reward of our Father which seeth in secret?
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Truth is Eternal - Balthasar Hubmaier
More Than Enough
January 31
Read: Exodus 36:1-7
“For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.” - Exodus 36:7
Sometimes, the cultural, time, and language distances between us and the Bible are almost too far to span. As residents in an incredibly materialistic society, Biblical statements on riches and money seem to bounce off us like Styrofoam pellets off plexiglass. We read about how God’s people gave, allow any principles involved to be diluted by our cultural filters, and learn nothing. In an effort to make some of it stick, let’s dig a little deeper.
First, notice who is doing the giving. This is the nation of Israel, fresh out of Egypt, wandering from place to place with no more than they could carry on their backs or on pack animals. Yes, they had spoiled the Egyptians (Exodus 12:35-36), but they still couldn’t have had much. In spite of it, when it came time to build the tabernacle and its furnishings, God simply told Moses to ask the people to give. Exodus 25:1-8 tells what they are to give, and how they are to give. Notice also, God was only interested in the one who would give “willingly of his heart” (v. 2).
Moses repeated God’s command in Exodus 35:5, “Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord: gold, and silver, and brass...” In verse 21, we see the response, “And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.” Wow. No strident pleas, no offers of special prizes or blessings, no slick advertising campaigns, just a simple appeal to the Lord’s people. Notice there was no compulsion involved. You simply had to have a willing heart and something to give.
And the people gave. By our standards, these people had nothing. Most of us have enough clothes in our closets to cloth 100 of these people. We spend more on our pets than they ever saw in their entire lives. And still, the word of God says, “they gave.” And how they gave. In chapter 36 and verse 3 it says they gave, and they gave, and they gave, until, in verses 4 and 5, we read:
“And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; and they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.”
The people gave, and gave, and gave. They dug through all the saddlebags, they searched the chests and purses. They dug through the jewelry boxes, and they gave. They gave so much that the workers came to Moses and said, “Tell them to stop.”
I look forward to the day when I hear a Christian worker stand up and say to God’s people, “Stop giving, it is more than enough.”
God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. - Hudson Taylor
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Truth is Eternal - Balthasar Hubmaier
Read: Exodus 36:1-7
“For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.” - Exodus 36:7
Sometimes, the cultural, time, and language distances between us and the Bible are almost too far to span. As residents in an incredibly materialistic society, Biblical statements on riches and money seem to bounce off us like Styrofoam pellets off plexiglass. We read about how God’s people gave, allow any principles involved to be diluted by our cultural filters, and learn nothing. In an effort to make some of it stick, let’s dig a little deeper.
First, notice who is doing the giving. This is the nation of Israel, fresh out of Egypt, wandering from place to place with no more than they could carry on their backs or on pack animals. Yes, they had spoiled the Egyptians (Exodus 12:35-36), but they still couldn’t have had much. In spite of it, when it came time to build the tabernacle and its furnishings, God simply told Moses to ask the people to give. Exodus 25:1-8 tells what they are to give, and how they are to give. Notice also, God was only interested in the one who would give “willingly of his heart” (v. 2).
Moses repeated God’s command in Exodus 35:5, “Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord: gold, and silver, and brass...” In verse 21, we see the response, “And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.” Wow. No strident pleas, no offers of special prizes or blessings, no slick advertising campaigns, just a simple appeal to the Lord’s people. Notice there was no compulsion involved. You simply had to have a willing heart and something to give.
And the people gave. By our standards, these people had nothing. Most of us have enough clothes in our closets to cloth 100 of these people. We spend more on our pets than they ever saw in their entire lives. And still, the word of God says, “they gave.” And how they gave. In chapter 36 and verse 3 it says they gave, and they gave, and they gave, until, in verses 4 and 5, we read:
“And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; and they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.”
The people gave, and gave, and gave. They dug through all the saddlebags, they searched the chests and purses. They dug through the jewelry boxes, and they gave. They gave so much that the workers came to Moses and said, “Tell them to stop.”
I look forward to the day when I hear a Christian worker stand up and say to God’s people, “Stop giving, it is more than enough.”
God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. - Hudson Taylor
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Truth is Eternal - Balthasar Hubmaier
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Thy Word is Truth
January 30
Read: Luke 24:13-27
In my personal Bible study, I almost always take time to read from both the Old and New Testaments. I will usually read the New Testament twice for each single reading of the Old, but that is simply because of its relation to our time. We do live in the age of the church, and the New Testament is written to us specifically.
We would be wrong, though, to neglect the Old Testament. So much of the New is simply not understandable without the background of the Old. Additionally, Jesus pointed out a number of times that the primary subject of the Old Testament was Jesus Himself. In Luke 24:25-26, He was critical of the disciples for failing to recognize the connection. In verse 27, it says of Jesus that, “...beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”
Man, how would you have liked to be present for that Bible study? Yet, even as we marvel at what it must have been like to have Jesus explaining the Old Testament, we must recognize that we have been extended the same privilege. As Christians, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Jesus, speaking of the Spirit, said “...He will guide you into all truth (John 16:13)...” The author and interpreter of the Bible is the Holy Spirit. It is His job to teach us the Scriptures.
I have heard a number of people comment disparagingly on the Old Testament, as if it didn’t belong to us or we couldn’t understand it. At number of New Testament Scriptures testify to the falsehood of that opinion. Consider Luke 24:27 above. Then add to it John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.” Then John 5:39 “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.” And Romans 15:4, “...whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Every one of these is a reference to the Old Testament!
Think about it. The Old Testament testifies of Jesus, was given for our learning, and was written by the very same Holy Spirit that lives inside us. To neglect our study of the Old Testament is to neglect 3/5 of the inspired Word of God. Don’t even think about it.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Truth is eternal - Balthasar Hubmaier
Read: Luke 24:13-27
In my personal Bible study, I almost always take time to read from both the Old and New Testaments. I will usually read the New Testament twice for each single reading of the Old, but that is simply because of its relation to our time. We do live in the age of the church, and the New Testament is written to us specifically.
We would be wrong, though, to neglect the Old Testament. So much of the New is simply not understandable without the background of the Old. Additionally, Jesus pointed out a number of times that the primary subject of the Old Testament was Jesus Himself. In Luke 24:25-26, He was critical of the disciples for failing to recognize the connection. In verse 27, it says of Jesus that, “...beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”
Man, how would you have liked to be present for that Bible study? Yet, even as we marvel at what it must have been like to have Jesus explaining the Old Testament, we must recognize that we have been extended the same privilege. As Christians, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Jesus, speaking of the Spirit, said “...He will guide you into all truth (John 16:13)...” The author and interpreter of the Bible is the Holy Spirit. It is His job to teach us the Scriptures.
I have heard a number of people comment disparagingly on the Old Testament, as if it didn’t belong to us or we couldn’t understand it. At number of New Testament Scriptures testify to the falsehood of that opinion. Consider Luke 24:27 above. Then add to it John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.” Then John 5:39 “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.” And Romans 15:4, “...whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Every one of these is a reference to the Old Testament!
Think about it. The Old Testament testifies of Jesus, was given for our learning, and was written by the very same Holy Spirit that lives inside us. To neglect our study of the Old Testament is to neglect 3/5 of the inspired Word of God. Don’t even think about it.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Truth is eternal - Balthasar Hubmaier
Look Up!
January 29
Read: Luke 21:25-28
I’m not sure exactly how the thought process began, but recently I was struck by something that may or may not have real significance. My wife came home from the store recently and had purchased several boxes of a particular product. She explained how she had trouble finding it in the store, and that when she did find it she felt like she should buy extra. Shortly afterwards, I tried to replenish my coffee supply, only to discover that the store was out (temporarily, I hope). My immediate thought was that when it came in, I would buy several cans. And then last week, while traveling, I found a product my mother had been looking for literally for years. Of course I bought more than one.
Realizing that we are not hoarders by nature, I was struck by the similarity between these incidents and what we had experienced while on the foreign mission field. Everywhere we went, we carried a shopping list in our heads and a net bag in our pocket. One never knew when one might run across such delicacies as toilet paper and peanut butter, and it paid to be prepared. The thought crossed my mind, “Is it possible that we as a country are sliding toward third-world status?” As an untrained observer, I’m not sure any conclusions I might draw about the matter will hold water, but the idea makes me a little uneasy, and puts me on guard watching for other signs.
In Luke 21, Jesus instructed the disciples concerning some signs they should be watching for. He lists a number of things that will occur prior to His return, and then He warns them to be watching. “When these things begin to come to pass,” He says, “then look up, and lift your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh.”
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is coming again. The world situation and the biblical signs are so aligned as to convince most of us that it could happen at any moment. The Bible pronounces a special blessing on those who are watching and waiting when He does come (Luke 12:35-38). Similar to the situation in the grocery store, what we see about us is no guarantee that what we are expecting will occur. But it certainly should have us on guard.
Listening for the shout.
Bro. Tom
Truth is Eternal - Balthasar Hubmaier
Read: Luke 21:25-28
I’m not sure exactly how the thought process began, but recently I was struck by something that may or may not have real significance. My wife came home from the store recently and had purchased several boxes of a particular product. She explained how she had trouble finding it in the store, and that when she did find it she felt like she should buy extra. Shortly afterwards, I tried to replenish my coffee supply, only to discover that the store was out (temporarily, I hope). My immediate thought was that when it came in, I would buy several cans. And then last week, while traveling, I found a product my mother had been looking for literally for years. Of course I bought more than one.
Realizing that we are not hoarders by nature, I was struck by the similarity between these incidents and what we had experienced while on the foreign mission field. Everywhere we went, we carried a shopping list in our heads and a net bag in our pocket. One never knew when one might run across such delicacies as toilet paper and peanut butter, and it paid to be prepared. The thought crossed my mind, “Is it possible that we as a country are sliding toward third-world status?” As an untrained observer, I’m not sure any conclusions I might draw about the matter will hold water, but the idea makes me a little uneasy, and puts me on guard watching for other signs.
In Luke 21, Jesus instructed the disciples concerning some signs they should be watching for. He lists a number of things that will occur prior to His return, and then He warns them to be watching. “When these things begin to come to pass,” He says, “then look up, and lift your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh.”
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is coming again. The world situation and the biblical signs are so aligned as to convince most of us that it could happen at any moment. The Bible pronounces a special blessing on those who are watching and waiting when He does come (Luke 12:35-38). Similar to the situation in the grocery store, what we see about us is no guarantee that what we are expecting will occur. But it certainly should have us on guard.
Listening for the shout.
Bro. Tom
Truth is Eternal - Balthasar Hubmaier
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Where am I?
January 28
Read: Luke 17:11-19
In the book “The Disciple-Making Pastor”, Bill Hull makes a sad statement. On page 222, he writes:
While 50% of the congregation never leaves the come-and-see phase, the happy focus is that the other half will. The psychopathology of not moving from “come and see” I will leave to the analytical.
This is not to say that he advocates abandoning the 50% of the congregation that will not move down the road to discipleship. Earlier, he states very clearly that they are God’s children and part of our ministry. The sadness is that, unfortunately, there is a relatively large number of professed Christians who will never get beyond the Sunday morning church stage.
The story in Luke 17 gives us a similar picture. Jesus, encountering ten lepers standing outside of a village, was moved by their cries to heal them of the dread disease. The Bible says Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests. As they went, they were cleansed. Imagine the joy and excitement among the group as they realized that each of them was being freed from their awful condition. One of them, a Samaritan, recognizing the wonderful blessing could only have come from God, begins to glorify Him with a loud voice. He turns and comes back to Jesus, throws himself at His feet and begins to thank Him. The other nine walk on.
Jesus asks the rhetorical questions, “Were not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” Sadly, only one, and he a stranger and heathen, returned to give glory to God.
If you are a Christian today, a born-again believer, you have been healed of a disease far more serious than leprosy. God’s purpose in doing so is much bigger than simply providing an escape hatch for eternity. He wants to make you a disciple of Jesus, one who shares His mission and His character. It baffles me than anyone can be a child of God, born of the Spirit and the blood of Christ, an inheritor of eternal life and the glories of heaven, a partaker of the divine nature, and yet be unwilling to be used of God for His glory. God forbid that I should find myself among the 50% who only take.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Phil 1:6
Truth is Eternal - Balthasar Hubmaier
Read: Luke 17:11-19
In the book “The Disciple-Making Pastor”, Bill Hull makes a sad statement. On page 222, he writes:
While 50% of the congregation never leaves the come-and-see phase, the happy focus is that the other half will. The psychopathology of not moving from “come and see” I will leave to the analytical.
This is not to say that he advocates abandoning the 50% of the congregation that will not move down the road to discipleship. Earlier, he states very clearly that they are God’s children and part of our ministry. The sadness is that, unfortunately, there is a relatively large number of professed Christians who will never get beyond the Sunday morning church stage.
The story in Luke 17 gives us a similar picture. Jesus, encountering ten lepers standing outside of a village, was moved by their cries to heal them of the dread disease. The Bible says Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests. As they went, they were cleansed. Imagine the joy and excitement among the group as they realized that each of them was being freed from their awful condition. One of them, a Samaritan, recognizing the wonderful blessing could only have come from God, begins to glorify Him with a loud voice. He turns and comes back to Jesus, throws himself at His feet and begins to thank Him. The other nine walk on.
Jesus asks the rhetorical questions, “Were not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” Sadly, only one, and he a stranger and heathen, returned to give glory to God.
If you are a Christian today, a born-again believer, you have been healed of a disease far more serious than leprosy. God’s purpose in doing so is much bigger than simply providing an escape hatch for eternity. He wants to make you a disciple of Jesus, one who shares His mission and His character. It baffles me than anyone can be a child of God, born of the Spirit and the blood of Christ, an inheritor of eternal life and the glories of heaven, a partaker of the divine nature, and yet be unwilling to be used of God for His glory. God forbid that I should find myself among the 50% who only take.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Phil 1:6
Truth is Eternal - Balthasar Hubmaier
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A Reasonable Service
January 27
Text: Romans 1:1-17
“It takes 1000 Christians 365 days to win one soul to Christ.”
While reading recently, the statement above stopped me in my tracks. I was literally stunned and sickened as I considered the ramifications of that statement to God’s church and to me personally. We have a directive from God to go into all the world and make disciples. The first step in disciple-making is sharing the gospel. We know the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation, and yet it takes one thousand of us one year to see one soul saved?! Oh, Lord, what has happened to us?
The situation was compounded by another book I was reading. This book was a journal of the first year of ministry for a missionary couple in Muslim North Africa. The obstacles they faced would have overwhelmed most of us, and yet they were there, in country, surrounded by Muslims, faithfully sharing the good news of God's salvation in Jesus. And God was saving souls. The narrative was rife with instances of God’s working among these people, clear and compelling evidence that Paul’s assurance in Romans 1:16, that the gospel was “the power of God unto salvation”, was still true.
If they can be used of God to spread the gospel in North Africa where it is hard, surely I can be used where it is easy? I came away with a new determination to seek opportunities to be a conduit for the Lord, taking advantage of every opportunity to share Christ. It is, as the Bible says, our reasonable service.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Truth is Eternal
Text: Romans 1:1-17
“It takes 1000 Christians 365 days to win one soul to Christ.”
While reading recently, the statement above stopped me in my tracks. I was literally stunned and sickened as I considered the ramifications of that statement to God’s church and to me personally. We have a directive from God to go into all the world and make disciples. The first step in disciple-making is sharing the gospel. We know the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation, and yet it takes one thousand of us one year to see one soul saved?! Oh, Lord, what has happened to us?
The situation was compounded by another book I was reading. This book was a journal of the first year of ministry for a missionary couple in Muslim North Africa. The obstacles they faced would have overwhelmed most of us, and yet they were there, in country, surrounded by Muslims, faithfully sharing the good news of God's salvation in Jesus. And God was saving souls. The narrative was rife with instances of God’s working among these people, clear and compelling evidence that Paul’s assurance in Romans 1:16, that the gospel was “the power of God unto salvation”, was still true.
If they can be used of God to spread the gospel in North Africa where it is hard, surely I can be used where it is easy? I came away with a new determination to seek opportunities to be a conduit for the Lord, taking advantage of every opportunity to share Christ. It is, as the Bible says, our reasonable service.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Truth is Eternal
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A Blank Check
January 26
TEXT: Exodus 19:1-8
In the third month of the exodus from Egypt, God stops His people at the entrance to the wilderness and has a brief discussion with them. In v. 4, He reminds them of what He had done in Egypt, how He had conquered Pharaoh and brought them out of bondage. Then, in a brief if-then statement, God lays a blank check before the nation. “If you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people (for all the earth is mine) and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy people.” God had not yet told them what He would demand of them, in effect laying before them a blank check and giving them the option, sign here.
The people, having seen God’s great deliverance and awed by His presence and holy power, signed the check in v. 8, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” To sign the check was an act of faith in a moment of strength. To deliver on it was another matter indeed. Israel failed God in every way, falling into such idolatry and rebellion that it resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the people. Kind of gives teeth to the warning “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay (Ecc. 5:4-5).
As believers, we have put our trust in Christ. We have experienced the forgiveness of sins and the new birth. We have come to know God on a new and personal level. Now comes the next stage, the “follow me” stage. God wants you to move beyond deliverance into growth and service. He has adopted you into His family, now He wants to involve you in the family business. Many of us, realizing the call to discipleship is as urgent and necessary as the call to salvation, have written God a blank check, only to be dismayed and delayed by the apparent cost. Our case does differ from Israel, in that Jesus was very clear what the cost would be, telling us in Matthew 16:25, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Knowing this, how often have we, at the moment of testing, said to the Lord, “just a minute, Lord, I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
In Psalm 15, David described those who would abide in the tabernacle of God, saying, “He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.” You see, brothers and sisters. God is not as much interested in our signing a blank check as in what we do after He fills in the amount. You trusted Him enough to give your life to Him, can you trust Him enough not to take it back, no matter what?
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
TEXT: Exodus 19:1-8
In the third month of the exodus from Egypt, God stops His people at the entrance to the wilderness and has a brief discussion with them. In v. 4, He reminds them of what He had done in Egypt, how He had conquered Pharaoh and brought them out of bondage. Then, in a brief if-then statement, God lays a blank check before the nation. “If you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people (for all the earth is mine) and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy people.” God had not yet told them what He would demand of them, in effect laying before them a blank check and giving them the option, sign here.
The people, having seen God’s great deliverance and awed by His presence and holy power, signed the check in v. 8, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” To sign the check was an act of faith in a moment of strength. To deliver on it was another matter indeed. Israel failed God in every way, falling into such idolatry and rebellion that it resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the people. Kind of gives teeth to the warning “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay (Ecc. 5:4-5).
As believers, we have put our trust in Christ. We have experienced the forgiveness of sins and the new birth. We have come to know God on a new and personal level. Now comes the next stage, the “follow me” stage. God wants you to move beyond deliverance into growth and service. He has adopted you into His family, now He wants to involve you in the family business. Many of us, realizing the call to discipleship is as urgent and necessary as the call to salvation, have written God a blank check, only to be dismayed and delayed by the apparent cost. Our case does differ from Israel, in that Jesus was very clear what the cost would be, telling us in Matthew 16:25, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Knowing this, how often have we, at the moment of testing, said to the Lord, “just a minute, Lord, I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
In Psalm 15, David described those who would abide in the tabernacle of God, saying, “He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.” You see, brothers and sisters. God is not as much interested in our signing a blank check as in what we do after He fills in the amount. You trusted Him enough to give your life to Him, can you trust Him enough not to take it back, no matter what?
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
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